Moonbase by 2022 For $10 Billion, Says NASA

Returning to the Moon has been the fevered dream of many scientists and astronauts. Ever since the Apollo Program culminated with the first astronauts setting foot on the Moon on July 20th, 1969, we have been looking for ways to go back to the Moon… and to stay there. In that time, multiple proposals have been drafted and considered. But in every case, these plans failed, despite the brave words and bold pledges made.

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I think 2022 is way to close for that.

not going to happen

america swapped manned space exploration for fighting wars

vietnam put paid to the saturn V

they are mad for not tunneling

its safer, the face of the moon show multiple strikes

going sub surface is safer considering you are also exposed to radiation with no real protection

wookiemeister said:

they are mad for not tunneling

its safer, the face of the moon show multiple strikes

going sub surface is safer considering you are also exposed to radiation with no real protection

Yes and no. Tunnelling is far better, but takes a lot of both time and energy. There are alternatives that may be quicker and cheaper, such as making an igloo out of moon dust.

not much protection against bombardment from space though

i’d take my chances underground

wookiemeister said:

not much protection against bombardment from space though

i’d take my chances underground

From radiation or meteors ?

chances of getting hit by a meteor on the moon would be pretty slim. just looks bad because there is no erosion to erase past strikes so it looks a lot. radiation would be a bigger problem. if you built at the poles then danger solar flares etc would be minimized because of the angle.

ChrispenEvan said:

chances of getting hit by a meteor on the moon would be pretty slim. just looks bad because there is no erosion to erase past strikes so it looks a lot. radiation would be a bigger problem. if you built at the poles then danger solar flares etc would be minimized because of the angle.

That’s what I was thinking smaller target and gravity well than the Earth, offset perhaps by no atmosphere to burn them up before they hit the surface.

Just to be clear, building a moonbase by 2022 for $10 billion is not part of NASA’s program and is not likely to be.

This story is about the results of a workshop that took place in 2014, between certain industry figures and NASA staff, to ballpark what would be possible with a private-public partnership.

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/space.2015.0037

The actual NASA plans involve a landing on the moon around 2028, and do not include any actual “moonbase”.

There’s a pretty good chance that all of the Apollo astronauts will be dead by the time the next person walks on the moon.